The Year of Eternal Rain
by Ambrosia2
Summary: Sometimes rain seems pure and simple, and sometimes it seems ominous. Now it is up to Harry and gang to find out why it hasn't stopped raining, and what it has to do with Voldemort. HHr, RHr


**Title**: The Year of Eternal Rain  
  
**Author**: Ambrosia2  
  
**Pairings**: Harry/Hermione, Ron/Hermione  
  
**Genre**: Action/Adventure/Romance/Drama  
  
**Feedback**: Please. I would like to know how you think this story could be improved. I love advise and comments from both fellow writers and fellow readers.  
  
**Authors Note**: I tried to make a chapter with decent length, and I think I succeeded. I think that this will end up being a long fic. I already have the basic plot line planned out. Have fun reading it!  
  
**Disclaimer**: No, I don't own Harry Potter. Or Hermione. Or even Ron. And believe me, I cry every day about it, but I don't own Draco, either.

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_Chapter One: The Rain Starts  
  
_It had been raining down on the trim, neat houses of Private Drive for two weeks. The rain had come, at times, in fat drops that accumulated quickly and then flowed to the gutters. At other times, it came down as a fine mist that collected only on the leaves and your spectacles, were you so inclined to go outside. But most of the time, it came down in rhythmic, constant sheets of water. The rain didn't just fall from the sky, either. At times it blew in side ways, and sometimes seemed to even hit you from the ground.  
  
It was for this reason that Harry Potter was forced back into Number Four Private Drive. To most people, the tidy house seemed a very nice place to stay indeed, but for Harry it was quite the opposite. This was the house of his Uncle Vernon, his Aunt Petunia, and his cousin Dudley. His relatives absolutely hated him, as did his neighbors. They were the type of people who thought anything unusual might as well be illegal. Unfortunately, Harry was a very unusual boy. He had been attending Hogwarts for five years, practicing magic for five years, and associating with just the type of people his relatives hated for five years.  
  
Harry was sitting up in his room, staring out of the window, watching the rain with boredom. He still had another day with the Dursleys till he went down to Diagon Alley to get his school supplies for his 6th year at Hogwarts. Most teenagers waited all year long for summer, but Harry counted down the days till it was over. Even the hours that day had seemed to go by excruciatingly slow. Harry looked at the flashing alarm clock beside his bed and sighed. Thank goodness it was 10:30. He could just go to sleep with the knowledge that he was going to be back at his real home, Hogwarts, the next day. Harry took off his glasses, set them on his side table, and rubbed his eyes. He got up from his bed to change into his night clothes, and on his way back picked up the letter he had gotten the week before from Hermione.  
  
He lay down on his bed and pulled the covers up around him. Carefully unfolding the letter, he read it over once more and smiled to himself. Harry didn't know why, but lately all he seemed to be able to think about were his friends, particularly Hermione. So much had happened the year before, and there was so much he wanted to talk to her about. The year before had been hard for him. He had lost the only father figure he had ever known, had gone on trial, and had faced even more stress than usual. Now that he had sorted everything out with himself this summer, he realized he had taken a lot out on her and Ron. He really wanted to apologize to her, but what was he supposed to say?  
  
Harry exhaled deeply and put the letter away in his drawer, deciding to deal with that particular problem when it came to him. Closing his eyes, he leaned back against his pillow and fell into a fitful slumber. His dreams that night were haunted with visions of Sirius falling, disappearing from his sight. He dreamt of Hermione turning away from him, saying she couldn't forgive him for what he had put her through. In his dreams Ron was yelling at him, angry with him, screaming, but he couldn't figure out what Ron was saying to him. The words came out in a huge blurring mass of speech. The sound of yelling woke him, echoing in his ears mercilessly. Only did it end when he realized the yelling was his own. He clapped his hand over his mouth and tried not to panic. What would his Aunt and Uncle do if they woke up?  
  
Fortunately, he didn't have to deal with it. No one in the family came up to scold him. Either they didn't hear him or didn't care if there was something wrong with him. Harry scowled, thinking it was probably the second one. His family, if you could call them that, did everything in their power to make him miserable, and they were very good at it. They probably wouldn't care if he got seriously injured, or sick. He doubted they would care that much if he died.  
  
"Oh well. At least it was Harry and not our sweet little Duddydums, right dear? He was a strange boy anyway. The world will be better off without his kind." He could imagine them saying. He looked over at his clock. Good, it was already 7:15. He got out of bed and got dressed. He looked down at the jeans he had on. They were too short in the legs and too wide in the waist, kept suspended by a belt Dudley had tried to throw away. His shirt was now way too small and the pocket was torn. It really was quite embarrassing to walk out of the house like that. He knew several spells he could have used to repair his clothing, but magic wasn't allowed in the muggle world if you were a minor.  
  
Harry packed his trunk, full of his parchment, robes, quills, and other things he needed for school. He put Hedwig into her cage and set her on top of his trunk. Now all he had to do was wait for Ron and his family to show up at his house. After several bad experiences with picking him up, Harry had asked them to pick him up in a muggle friendly manner. He only hoped Mr. Weasley understood muggle transportation.  
  
At 8:00 the doorbell rang. Harry raced down the stairs, hoping to be the one to get the door. If all worked smoothly, he could be gone without having to face the Dursleys at all. As fate had it, he was not meant to leave quite that easily. Aunt Petunia stood in the open doorway, obviously conversing with the person on the other side. A sour expression was on her face, like she had just tasted something incredibly disgusting. Craning her long neck in Harry's direction, Aunt Petunia shot him a wicked glare.  
  
"One of.....those people are here." She said slowly, nose turned up in the air. With that, she turned on her heel and walked away quickly. Harry ran to the door and grinned at Ron, who stood on the other side of the door in the rain. He seemed oblivious that he was soaking wet. Harry grabbed his trunk and his owls' cage, and then flew out the door as fast as he possibly could. Parked in front of his house was a very normal looking banana yellow taxi cab. In the drivers seat was Mr. Weasley, beside him on the passenger side was Ginny, and in the back seat was Hermione. She smiled at him happily and waved to Harry. He shoved his bags into the trunk of the car and climbed into the back of the cab beside Hermione. Ron went around the other side and sat to her left. Hermione threw her arms around Harry and hugged him tightly. He put his arms around her too, resting his head on top of hers, breathing in the scent of her hair.  
  
"Oh Harry, it's so good to see you! I missed you and Ron so much over the summer that I could hardly bear it. I hope the Dursleys weren't too horrible to you Harry. Were they awful? "She asked, speaking a mile a minute, obviously excited. He grinned and threw his arm around Ron, both of them grinning at each other in acknowledgment.  
  
"It was no worse than usual. I really missed you guys too. I'm glad we're going back to Hogwarts." He said, and then looked at Mr. Weasley. "But where did you get this cab?"  
  
Mr. Weasley flicked on the windshield wipers and started driving, turned around slightly in his seat to speak with Harry. A proud smile was on his face.  
  
"This isn't just any taxi, Harry. This is a wizarding taxi. You see, you just tap the wheel with your wand, tell it where you want to go, and 'Poof' you're there in a jiffy! Isn't it spectacular? Tonks let me borrow it. She's taken on being a cabby as a part time job. "  
  
Harry nodded his head and smiled agreeably at Mr. Weasley. He greatly respected the older man, but he sure did get involved with some unusual things. Harry turned back to his two best friends and sighed. He had wanted to talk to them when he saw them, but this didn't seem to be the right place. He leaned his head against the window and stared out into the rain.  
  
"What do you reckon is up with the weather?" Ron asked, as if seeing what Harry was thinking. "All of mums' garden is completely flooded. The garden gnomes are having a field day trying to get into our house. "  
  
Hermione looked out the window at the rain thoughtfully. "I wander if it's just a fluke that it's been raining so long. Do think it could mean something?" she asked. Harry tried to hide his frown. He had been thinking something along the same lines. What if the rain was magical? Did it have something to do with Voldemort? Ron interrupted his train of thought though, before he got carried away.  
  
"Nah, Hermione. You're just paranoid. It's only rain. How could a little rain possibly hurt us? If you're thinking it's You-Know-Who, I think you should just relax. Surely he could come up with something better than that."  
  
Harry nodded his head solemnly. Ron was right; he and Hermione were just being suspicious. But still, something seemed not right to him. Harry decided to just drop the issue and instead looked at his friends. Ron looked a lot taller than the year before. His bright red hair had darkened a little, and he looked a lot less gangly than before. He doubted Ron would have any trouble with girls this year. Hermione looked different too. She didn't appear to have gotten any taller, but her features and body seemed more mature. Her thick coffee colored hair was pulled into two braids that reached down to her waist, and her bangs were held back by a few clips. She looked really pretty, Harry admitted to himself, hoping neither of his friends noticed his blush.  
  
Mr. Weasley pulled into a vacant alley, making sure no muggles were around. He pulled out his wand, tapped the steering wheel twice, and shouted "Diagon Alley!" Harry and Hermione watched in amazement as the world outside of the car seemed to fade away into a deep purple, shimmering mass, as if everything around them had been broken down into tiny particles. In seconds everything came back together, but now their surroundings looked like Diagon Alley. Harry raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed, and gave a small grin to Hermione. It must have been her first time in a magical cab, too.  
  
Ron opened up the door to the car and stepped out. Harry and Hermione followed after him into the pouring rain. Hermione quickly pulled out her wand and murmured a rain blocking charm on each of them so that they didn't get wet. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny parted from Mr. Weasley with their list of school supplies and set out. Hermione pulled out her supply list and started reading the books they needed.  
  
"Well, for potions, we need the book 'Advanced Potions and Poisons'. Isn't that exciting Harry? We get to make poisons this year!" Hermione said, a fake smile on her face. Harry frowned at her and shook his head in exasperation. Hermione grinned and continued.  
  
"Okay, for transfiguration, we need 'Turning yourself into animals and back again.' For defense against the dark arts...Well, would you look at this? It says we don't need a book for it. Isn't that odd?" she asked. Harry and Ron exchanged glances, wondering what kind of teacher didn't use a book for teaching.  
  
"And for Charms," said Hermione, "We need 'Charms for the Charming.'" Ron and Harry nodded their heads and walked into the bookstore. Ginny split up with them, off to get her own years books. After gathering the rest of his books and needed supplies, Harry looked around the store for Hermione. He really wanted to talk to her. He realized now, after seeing her again, that his feeling for her ran deeper than friendship, and he wanted to tell her that. He inhaled, trying to sum up his courage, and started walking in her direction.  
  
Harry was a bit discouraged when he found that Ron was already talking to her. He couldn't admit his feelings for her with Ron around. Ron turned to face him and had a large smile on his face. Hermione too looked very happy about something. It was only then that he noticed the two were holding hands. Harry's heart seemed to drop into his feet and he had trouble drawing a breath. Harry tired to put a smile on his face, hoping to appear calm and collected.  
  
"Hey you guys. What's going on?" he asked, hoping his voice didn't crack. Did Ron and Hermione normally hold hands? Did they usually smile longingly at each other? He hoped this was something normal, and not what he thought it was. Hermione winked at him and smiled beautifully, her whole face lighted up.  
  
"Oh Harry, you won't believe it! Ron just asked me to be his girlfriend!" She said excitedly, and gave him a quick hug. Harry looked at the two dazed. Ron liked Hermione too? Now what was he supposed to do? Watch his best friend date the girl he loved and pretend he was happy for them? Harry sighed inwardly. Yes, it appeared that was exactly what he was going to be doing.  
  
"Congratulations." Harry managed to choke out. "I'm sure you two will be very happy together."  
  
Ron smiled at him and patted him on the back. "Thanks Harry. Now come on, we have a train to catch!" And so, Harry, Ginny, and a now very happy Ron and Hermione, met up with Mr. Weasley and took the cab again to the train station. The rain fell down harder than ever, echoing his feelings. Another year was about to begin, and Harry Potter had never felt so depressed about it.

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**End Authors Note**: What did you think? Does it have potential? If not many people like it, I probably won't continue it. But if you do, tell me, and I'll update. I have a lot more time now that I'm out of school. (Yay, summer break!) 


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